Did You Return Something to Amazon in 2018? You Could Be Owed Money Today

Welcome to our weekly newsletter, Hunter's Insights!

In this special edition, we bring you essential Amazon updates and industry insights to keep you ahead in the fast-paced world of e-commerce:

📆 Amazon Is Issuing Refunds for Returns Dating Back to 2018

📊 Leverage Memorial Day Traffic with Amazon’s Outlet Deal Visibility

📦 New FBA Metric: Minimum Inventory Level Now Live

🌐 Amazon Is Now Enforcing Compliance Using External Brand Content

🆕 Category Insights Now Includes Top-Grossing & New ASIN Data

💻 Amazon Launches New Shipment Saving Analysis Dashboard

🚛 Amazon Enhances Shipment Creation with Cost & Split Visibility

📆 Amazon Is Issuing Refunds for Returns Dating Back to 2018

Amazon is issuing refunds for unresolved product returns, some dating back as far as seven years, following discovering discrepancies during an internal review. This initiative comes after a substantial $1.1 billion charge in the first quarter of 2025, related to these issues and is part of a broader effort to enhance transparency and customer satisfaction.

Key updates:

• $1.1 Billion One-Time Charge: Amazon recorded a significant charge in Q1, citing unresolved customer returns and excess inventory due to tariff concerns.

• Retroactive Refunds Issued: Customers receive refunds for returned products as early as 2018. Amazon found that it could not verify the receipt of the correct return items in some cases, prompting it to refund the affected orders.

• No Customer Action Required: Refunds are being processed automatically. Amazon has confirmed that it has already improved its payment systems and enhanced communication protocols.

• Ongoing Legal Pressure: This development coincides with a consumer lawsuit accusing Amazon of unfairly charging customers when returned items allegedly went missing after being dropped off. A judge has recently allowed the case to move forward.

Amazon is changing its approach to return discrepancies to prioritize customer satisfaction, aiming to reduce legal risks and maintain trust. This shift will improve return workflows for sellers and likely lead to stricter return verification.

📊 Leverage Memorial Day Traffic with Amazon’s Outlet Deal Visibility

Amazon is promoting excess inventory deals on the Outlet landing page until May 26, 2025, during the Memorial Day event. This offers a chance to boost traffic and sales by meeting discount criteria.

Key Updates:

• Outlet Landing Page Placement: Deals with discounts of 30% or more will be featured on the Amazon Outlet Memorial Day page, accessible via a homepage banner.

• Increased Traffic Potential: Participation in this outlet event can boost impressions and conversions for your excess inventory.

• Eligibility Deadline: By May 26, 2025, only deals active or scheduled before this date that meet the discount requirement will qualify for enhanced visibility.

• How to Qualify: In Seller Central, edit an existing deal to meet the 30%+ discount (Advertising → Deals) or create a new Outlet deal from the FBA Inventory tab using the “Create Outlet deal” filter.

Seize this limited-time opportunity to move aging inventory during high seasonal traffic efficiently. Adjust your deals to meet the 30%+ requirement and leverage Amazon’s key promotional event without extra ad spend.

📦 New FBA Metric: Minimum Inventory Level Now Live

Amazon has launched a new FBA metric, Minimum Inventory Level, to help sellers avoid the Low Inventory Level fee by providing a clear target for sustainable stock levels.

Key Updates:

• New Fee-Avoidance Metric: The Minimum Inventory Level metric indicates the specific inventory threshold you need to maintain to avoid the Low Inventory Level fee.  

• Dynamic and Customized: This threshold is updated weekly and tailored to reflect your demand trends, volatility, and restock patterns, rather than providing a generic recommendation.  

• Available Beyond Pan-EU: This feature is not limited to European accounts; it is also being rolled out to U.S. seller accounts.  

• Easier Inventory Planning: For the first time, Amazon is offering transparency into how it calculates inventory-related fees, enabling sellers to plan and avoid unexpected charges.  

This new metric simplifies stock management and helps sellers avoid hidden fees. It should be part of your regular operational checks—alongside IPI scores and restock limits—to maintain delivery performance, availability, and profitability.

🌐 Amazon Is Now Enforcing Compliance Using External Brand Content

Amazon has announced that it is no longer just reviewing the content on your product detail pages (PDPs). It is now actively pulling and validating data from external sources, including your direct-to-consumer (DTC) website.

Key Updates:

• Amazon's AI now crawls your brand's website and stores content to ensure compliance.

• Claims made in your listings are validated against external data, not just the information submitted in Seller Central.

• Non-compliant content on your website can lead to ASIN takedowns, even if that content is absent from your Amazon listing.

• Online packaging images and claims made elsewhere can impact your Amazon listings.

If your Shopify page, product packaging, or any external content contains unapproved claims or outdated messaging, your Amazon listings may be flagged. Consistency is crucial, as Amazon considers external messaging to be part of your official brand data.

Recommendation: Audit your website, packaging visuals, and all third-party listings to ensure they align with Amazon's approved content. Your branding now presents a compliance risk.

🆕 Category Insights Now Includes Top-Grossing & New ASIN Data

Amazon has made a significant enhancement to its Category Insights tool, which can greatly improve your ability to track and compete with leading products in your market.

Key Updates:

• New Insight Option: You can now view the top 10 grossing and newly launched ASINs by revenue within your selected category item type.

• ASIN-Level Data: This includes Best Seller Rank (BSR), Buy Box winning price, ratings, and the number of offers.  

• Available Globally: This feature is accessible across all Amazon marketplaces.

Why It Matters:

This new feature provides direct visibility into what is performing best in your category, including both established and emerging competitors.

You can utilize this information to refine your strategies, identify gaps in the market, and benchmark your performance more effectively.

💻 Amazon Launches New Shipment Saving Analysis Dashboard

Amazon has launched a new tool to help sellers make smarter and more cost-effective inventory decisions. The Shipment Savings Analysis dashboard provides insights on optimizing restocks based on Amazon’s recommendations.

Key Updates:

• Total Savings Opportunity: This feature calculates the combined value of potential sales and estimated savings on shipping fees.

• Potential Sales Opportunity: This is determined by multiplying Amazon’s recommended units per SKU by your product's selling price.

• Order Shipping Fee Savings: This estimates the cost savings from fulfilling orders using regionally available inventory instead of shipping from national warehouses.

Why It Matters: Following the restock recommendations can not only help reduce costs but also enhance your overall logistics performance.

Benefits include:

- Lower shipping expenses

- Faster delivery times

- Higher Buy Box win rates

- Increased customer satisfaction

Note: Savings are calculated only for the recommendations currently visible on the dashboard.

🚛 Amazon Enhances Shipment Creation with Cost & Split Visibility

Amazon has improved the “Send to Amazon” workflow for easier management of domestic and international shipments.

Key Updates:

• Amazon-Optimized Splits Visibility: Sellers can now see if their shipments qualify for optimized splits during the unit, case pack, and pallet template creation, streamlining fulfillment and reducing routing surprises.

• Early Shipping Cost Estimates: In Step 2 (Confirm Shipping), sellers receive estimated fees for the FBA inbound placement service and shipping costs based on PCP or SEND rates, applicable only if a PCP option is chosen.

• Pre-Selected Cost-Effective Shipping Method: For domestic shipments, the workflow automatically selects the most cost-effective shipping method between Small Parcel Delivery and LTL based on PCP rates.

These updates save time, minimize errors, and help sellers make informed shipping decisions.

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